Saturday, September 28, 2024: As the world commemorates International Day for Universal Access to Information, Paradigm Initiative calls for governments in the Global South to improve access to Information Communication Technologies for persons with disabilities to improve access to information. Access to information is a globally recognised human right for all, including persons with disabilities. However, the realisation of this right for persons with disabilities is a challenge despite commitments in the 2030 Agenda for sustainable development to ‘reach the furthest behind first’ and ‘leave no one behind.’

While at least 29 countries in Africa, have developed access to information laws, the United Nations Scientific and Cultural Organisation recommended that countries that amend or adopt access to information laws should recognise the rights of persons with physical and intellectual disability, put in place mandatory minimum accessibility standards and ensure that the process for requesting information is accessible. This recommendation came following a study by UNESCO which evaluated the access to information laws in 132 countries and found that 37 explicitly refer to persons with disabilities and their rights to varying degrees. The report demonstrated that there is limited access to information for persons with disabilities in line with Article 9 of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, which calls on states to ensure persons with disabilities have access on an equal basis with others, to information and communications. 

Despite the availability of the Universal Service Fund (USF), governments have taken slow steps to dedicate funding to support development and access to ICTs and assistive technologies for persons with disabilities. PIN’s Londa report highlights the application of the USF in 26 countries in Africa and recommends the enactment and implementation of relevant policies that will ensure digital inclusion for persons with disabilities. This call also comes at a time when, globally, persons with disabilities, including children with learning difficulties, have limited access to educational information. They face significant barriers to education because traditional learning methods usually do not cater to their unique needs, leading to frustration, disengagement, and a higher risk of dropping out of school. 

The lack of available data on the accessibility of ICTs for people with disabilities is a major setback, which has limited access to technologies for people with disabilities. PIN acknowledges that some governments in the Global South have adopted e-government services. However, according to the United Nations, over 60% of online national portals include features that are not accessible.

Despite these challenges, PIN acknowledges efforts made by the United Nations and governments in adopting the Pact for the Future and the Global Digital Compact, which in Paragraph 30 (d) of the Pact of the Future and Paragraphs 13 (b), 35 (c) and 36 (d) of the GDC and commit to seize opportunities provided by new and emerging technologies to empower and advance equity for persons with disabilities, including through promoting the availability of assistive technologies and, enhancing inclusion, eliminating barriers that prevent full, meaningful and effective participation of other stakeholder groups and persons with disabilities.

To improve access to information for persons with disabilities, Paradigm Initiative calls on governments to do the following:

• Align laws and regulations with the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and ensure that access to information laws recognise the rights of persons with disabilities.
• Utilise the Universal Service Fund to fund access to ICTs for persons with disabilities, to improve access to information.
• Establish oversight mechanisms to address and monitor the implementation of ICT accessibility initiatives for persons with disabilities.
• Provide data on the state of accessibility of ICTs for persons with disabilities.

About Paradigm Initiative

Paradigm Initiative (PIN) connects under-served young Africans with digital opportunities and protects their rights. We have worked in communities across Nigeria since 2007 and across Africa since 2017, building experience, community trust, and an organisational culture that positions us as a leading non-governmental organisation in ICT for Development and Digital Rights on the continent. 

We promote a rights-respecting continent through our team in subregional offices spread across Cameroon, Kenya, Nigeria, Senegal, Zambia and Zimbabwe. Our interventions are spread across more than 28 African countries. Paradigm Initiative pushes for an Internet that is open, accessible, and affordable to all.

Our programs include Life Skills. ICT. Financial Readiness. Entrepreneurship (LIFE) Training Programme, digital readiness workshop for youth, and a Life at Schools Club Programme. PIN has also built online platforms that educate and serve as safe spaces for reporting digital rights violations. 

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